Speeding – The Most Frequently Issued Traffic Ticket

If you have a ticket for speeding, contact us for a FREE no obligation consultation. Our "Easy No Brainer System" gets your ticket fought with almost no effort on your part.

Fines and Demerits for Speeding

In Alberta, speeding tickets come in four demerit point categories. The speed over the limit dictates the fine and the demerits you’ll get on your driving record (or ‘abstract’).

Demerits

Km/h Over

Demerits

Fine

1-15

2

$78-$120

16-30

3

$140-$239

31-50

4

$253-$474

51+

6*

$650-$2000

*may also result in licence suspension in which case you do not get demerit points applied to your driving record

Fines

All fines listed include a 15% surcharge

Km/h Over

Fine

Km/h Over

Fine

1

$78

26

$211

2

$80

27

$217

3

$83

28

$225

4

$87

29

$233

5

$89

30

$239

6

$93

31

$253

7

$96

32

$262

8

$98

33

$274

9

$102

34

$285

10

$105

35

$296

11

$109

36

$309

12

$111

37

$319

13

$115

38

$333

14

$118

39

$345

15

$120

40

$357

16

$140

41

$369

17

$149

42

$380

18

$154

43

$393

19

$163

44

$403

20

$167

45

$414

21

$175

46

$426

22

$185

47

$439

23

$189

48

$450

24

$198

49

$462

25

$203

50

$474

Speeding Tickets and Insurance Companies

Demerit point totals are of no interest to insurance companies. They look at how many convictions you have and what offenses those convictions are for. Different violations attract different levels of premium increases.

A few minor speeding tickets over 3 years puts you at the same insurance risk as an impaired driver! Then watch your insurance rates skyrocket!

Then Why Do Demerit Points Matter?

Alberta Driver Fitness & Monitoring cares about your demerit point total. Get 15 or more demerits within 2 years and you’ll have your license suspended. Find out more about license suspensions.

How We Can Help You

With more than 40 years of radar evidence experience, we've reviewed thousands of speeding tickets. The point is about controlling which version of the offense shows up on your record.

Properly interpreting the officer’s hand written notes can be everything in terms of arriving at an effective resolution. If the evidence isn’t solid, and/or we find your case is a great candidate for leniency from the prosecutors, chances are good we can keep the charges off your driving record. This greatly affects your insurance rates and also the possibility of license suspension... far more detrimental than the fine (which we typically get reduced as well)!

High Speed Charges

Alberta courts are tough on high speed drivers. If you’re caught going more than 50 km/h over the speed limit you enter the suspension zone. If we're certain you'll be suspended, we'll negotiate as low a fine and as short a suspension as possible... and we'll tell you this at the beginning… no candy coating. You need to make an informed decision about dealing with this serious charge.

Just a little over 50?... there’s still hope of avoiding suspension. That often depends on which prosecutor controls the courtroom… and you can bet we know who’s who in the prosecutor’s office.

This is a process you most certainly DO NOT want to face alone. Contact us for a FREE consultation.

We Guarantee Our Work!

"If we fail to resolve your speeding ticket as promised during consultation we will happily refund our service fee."

Speeding Ticket Tips

Can You Speed to Pass?

How many km/h over the speed limit are you allowed to go in order to pass a slow moving vehicle?

It would seem... that logic would dictate you should exceed the limit to get by that slow poke, especially if you’re on a single lane roadway.

It would seem... clearing the oncoming traffic lane would veto your need to comply with the posted limit in this case as long as your increase in speed was reasonable.

Think again… There are absolutely no provisions in the Traffic Safety Act that give you permission to speed for the purposes of passing and if that officer sees you doing it, you can be charged accordingly.

You wouldn’t believe how many clients we’ve defended who were nabbed by radar while passing a slower driver… but we have indeed successfully defended them. So keep that in mind should this ever happen to you.

Can You View Your Radar Reading?

You just got stopped for speeding, but you’re positive you weren’t going as fast as the radar says. You ask to see the radar reading and the officer refuses! They can’t do that, right? Read on...

Here’s the short answer: police are not required by law to show you the radar or laser device reading… EVER!

Court rulings from waaay back in the day say that’s the way it must be, and they’ve never changed. Occasionally an officer will show a ‘violator’ (the expression police use) the reading simply as a courtesy. What often happens next is the driver asks “How do I know that’s my speed and not the last person you stopped?”. An unwanted roadside debate begins and the officer quickly learns never to do that again.

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School Zone, Playground Zone & Construction Zone Speeding Tips

Construction Zone Speeding

I’m driving through a construction zone at night and there are no workers present. The reduced speed signs can’t really apply to me now… do they?

Though it is logical to think otherwise, they most certainly do still apply. As long as the signs indicating "Construction Zone" are posted, we are all subject to them at any hour on any day… and in cases where workers are indeed present at the site… remember... speed fines double.

Remember: Every traffic ticket matters for your insurance premiums - contact us if you get one! ...and you’ll never spend one minute in a courtroom!

School Zone & Playground Zone Speeding

It’s 8:45 pm… totally dark! The sun set more than 2 hours ago, but you’re getting a ticket for doing 50 through a school zone! Huh?

Last year Calgary City Council decided the speed in our school zones, playgrounds included, needed to be held down to 30 km/h for a longer duration than was previously enforced. These speed zones are now in effect until 9:00 pm every school day, and seven days a week for all playground zones.

City Council cited adults going to night school as the reason for the change. We call BS on that one! They had nothing meaningful to say about why it was necessary to include playground zones in the change. We CAN tell you that the City spent $157,000.00 of tax payer’s money in sign changes with absolutely NO statistical evidence showing a need for this change.

So why do YOU think they did it? We think it created yet another opportunity to stuff the city coffers full of enforcement cash.

Then there’s the insurance industry… jacking up premiums for more and more Calgary drivers because the offence is in the moderately serious range for premium increases. Hmmmmm…..

...and while you're at it, find out about the other cash cow the City of Calgary uses to pad its bank accounts

Photo Radar and Red Light Cameras

Radar/Laser Modes

How many ways can you get radar love? You might be surprised at some of the methods that’ll get you pulled over for speeding. Read on...

There are four basic ways to get scooped by radar/laser for speeding.

Conventional Stationary Radar:

This sends out an ever-widening cone that captures every moving object coming toward it. If there are 5 cars approaching, the officer gets 5 continuous readings flipping over on the read out. Typically the operator estimates the speed of the vehicle they feel is going the fastest then uses the radar reading to determine the actual speed of that vehicle. The reading is typically within 5 kmh +/- of their estimate. That’s why you often see “Estimated” checked off, along with circling “Radar/Laser” on the ticket.

Moving Mode:

We see this used most often on highways. Many police vehicles equipped with moving-mode have rear-looking capability as well as forward-looking function. The officer gets two readouts, usually one red and one green. The readings are for the police vehicle and for the approaching traffic. The officer estimates the speed of approaching vehicles to determine which vehicle matches which readout. If you approach a police car from behind, your speed is very likely monitored as you catch up to the police car.

Laser:

This is used much more than conventional radar these days it seems. It’s certainly preferred by operators since it targets one vehicle at a time. The officer, using the sighting scope on top of the device, aims a tiny red dot on your grille and squeezes the trigger. Your distance away from the officer and your speed are instantly recorded. The technology is so quick that most officers squeeze the trigger a second time to solidify their evidence…. and yes, laser can grab you even if you’re in a conga line of cars. The officer just needs a clear line of sight for a second or two.

Aircraft:

This is back in vogue with the highway patrol these days… both fixed wing and helicopter use. The lines painted on the road surface must meet distance requirements laid out by legislation. A spotter in the aircraft uses a certified accurate stop watch to time you from one line to the next. Once a speeder is identified, a call is made to the “interceptors’ on the ground who are guided as to which vehicle to pull in. Often several vehicles get pulled in at the same time because the spotter feels they all maintained a steady distance between one another through the marked target zone.

Regardless of the method used to earn you your early Christmas present, we can help make all of them a little less painful. A quick phone call to 403-690-6773 and you could magically see demerit points removed and fines decrease.

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Traffic Ticket Tip: Photo Radar Innaccurate?

When you get that Photo Radar ticket in the mail, are you absolutely certain it was really you who was speeding? Read on...

Randall Boyd Hicks (The Pointman) is responsible for the precedent setting defeat of the Multanova Photo Radar in 1990. It’s the world’s only successful mechanical defence to photo radar camera technology.

Randall proved that photo radar cameras do not accurately photograph speeders EVERY time. They will "from time to time photograph the wrong vehicle".

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Traffic Ticket Tip: How Radar & Laser Speed Traps Work

Are you a driver who tailgates others, jumping to the left lane to pass, then quickly back to the right lane because you’re sure that'll hide you from radar? Nice try, but that doesn’t work. So how do radar and laser speed traps REALLY work? Read on...

Conventional Radar detects every moving object captured by the beam. As the beam gets further away from the radar gun, the beam gets wider. When multiple cars are coming, the officer must visually select the fastest approaching vehicle then immediately look at the radar reading. If satisfied he has the right vehicle, he’ll pull it over. Ducking in and out of traffic will not hide your vehicle from being detected by conventional radar.

Laser Speed Measuring Technology gives zero hope of a “wrong vehicle stopped” defence. The officer uses a little red dot generated by the gun to target the front end of the approaching vehicle. This instantly provides a speed reading along with the distance the vehicle was from the gun at that moment. Many officers take two readings so there is no room for error in their evidence. It’s deadly accurate and reads only one vehicle at a time.

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Traffic Ticket Tip: Photo Radar - Cash Cow?

Photo Radar… is it legitimate law enforcement or just the ultimate cash cow?

Way back in 1990 Multanova Photo Radar came to our city and made Calgary the Canadian beta site for new “law enforcement” technology. Why the quote marks?...because that damn camera has absolutely NO effect on road safety! It sure fills the City coffers though… to record levels each successive year.

The statement from Calgary Police Service is that photo radar is slowing down drivers. The average speed on Deerfoot drops a km/h or two every few years. Could that possibly be the result of thousands of extra vehicles added to our already overwhelmed road system?

The Calgary Police Service’s spin about traffic enforcement is infuriating. C’mon you guys, do you really think we’re that simple minded?

Why?… photo radar cameras do not accurately photograph violators EVERY time. They will "from time to time photograph the wrong vehicle".

Traffic Ticket Tip: Red Light Cameras

Did you know red light cameras often photograph vehicles that have not broken the law?

One of the biggest problems with automated law enforcement technology is that it simply cannot cover every possible movement a driver can make. Clear evidence of this is the number of red light camera tickets we’ve seen over the years where our client is adamant they stopped before making a right turn on a red light.

Years ago I was informed by the photo radar unit of the Calgary Police Service that they filter these tickets out and don’t process them for prosecution. Well we’re here to tell you that just ain’t so.

If you get a red light ticket in the mail, please check with us before paying it. It may well prove to be $388.00 you don’t need to donate to the Province and our consultation is completely FREE.